Shiloh Jolie is among the many Americans who acquired Canadian citizenship by descent when Canada changed its citizenship law.
On December 15, 2025, changes to Canada’s Citizenship Act removed the first-generation limit to inheriting Canadian citizenship for everyone born before that date.
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Shiloh Jolie and her mother Angelina Jolie both became Canadian citizens when the new law came into force.
According to genealogical research by Perche-Quebec, Jolie descends from the same French-Canadian ancestor as Madonna, Celine Dion, and Queen Camilla: Zacharie Cloutier, one of the earliest French settlers in Quebec.
This line runs though Jolie’s grandmother, the late actress Marcheline Bertrand, whose father, Rolland Bertrand, was grandchild to four Quebecois grandparents, according to Geneanet.org.
But even a single Canadian great-great-great-grandparent would be enough for Shiloh Jolie, born in Namibia in 2006, to have the right to Canadian citizenship.
Shiloh may have inherited a Canadian citizenship from her famous mother, but when it comes to fame, it looks like she was determined to earn her own way.
Traditionally private, the eldest biological child of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt made her professional debut as a dancer in K-pop artist Dayoung’s music video for “What’s a Girl to Do,” taking efforts to avoid riding her mother’s coattails. Shiloh auditioned through an open casting call in the United States alongside members of her dance crew, Culture, and was selected on merit alone, according to E! News. In the video, she was credited simply as “Shi.”
Everyday Americans claiming dual citizenship with Canada
Like Shiloh, millions of Americans are now eligible for Canadian citizenship and a Canadian passport on the basis of their ancestry.
The likelihood is especially high for those with family roots in New England. Between 1840 and 1930, nearly one million French-Canadians left Quebec and migrated south to the American region now known to be New England in what historians have called the Great Hemorrhage, with the result that 25% of present-day New Englanders are estimated to have at least one Canadian ancestor, according to research by Patrick White.
If you are one of the many Americans who can trace a continuous line of descent from a Canadian ancestor, that means you are already a Canadian citizen under the new law. To obtain a Canadian passport, however, you must first apply for proof of citizenship.
Many Americans who are eligible are doing exactly that, with no intention of ever moving to Canada. They simply want a Canadian passport as a backup option during uncertain times.
To apply for proof of Canadian citizenship, you will need compliant copies of official documents tracing your lineage back to your Canadian ancestor, such as birth certificates, marriage records, and death records. For many applicants, gathering these official documents can be the most time-consuming part of the process.
As of the time of writing, Canada’s citizenship department takes approximately one year to process a proof of Canadian citizenship application. Once you have that certificate in hand, you can apply for a Canadian passport, which takes between 10 and 20 business days to process.
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